Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, February 4, 1998

The eight principles -- without specifically mentioning Microsoft -- state that no company should leverage its dominant operating system to help sell its other software products.

Microsoft was not fooled by the omission of its name.

Mark Murray, spokesman for the Redmond, Wash., firm, characterized the "so- called principles as the work of an SPA committee dominated by longtime Microsoft bashers" including Netscape, Novell, Oracle, Sybase and IBM.

"We think a trade association should not choose up sides in competition in the marketplace," he said, hinting that Microsoft might pull out of the 1,200-member trade group when its current membership expires in August.

SPA Chairman Kirk Loevner, president of the Internet Shopping Network in Sunnyvale, said SPA's board decided that taking a stand in the antitrust battle outweighed the possible loss of its biggest member.

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"If SPA did not take a position on this issue, it would not be doing its duties," he said.

Peter Harter, who represents Netscape at the SPA, said other companies -- notably Netscape and IBM -- have remained members even though SPA has taken stands that were at odds with those companies' policies on copyright and encryption.

-- Freebies: One document that's required reading at Netscape headquarters these days is an obscure treatise called, "The Cathedral and the Bazaar."

Written by Pennsylvania programmer Eric Raymond, it describes how a company can create a profitable business by giving away the source code of its software.

Source code is to software what the engine is to a car. You can drive a car without touching the engine, just as you can use a program without accessing its source code.

But many programmers like to get under the hood and tune software to their liking.

Netscape Vice President Marc Andreessen said the essay -- which Netscape execs learned about after hearing Raymond speak at a conference -- helped persuade Netscape to start giving away the source code to its browser last month.

Andreessen hopes that "garage mechanics" inside major corporations will create custom applications based on Netscape's browser, and become a guerrilla sales force that will steer their bosses toward buying Netscape's software for managing corporate networks.

Programmers outside Netscape are taking notice. Dave Winer, the Woodside programmer and Internet commentator, said he recently returned from an event in Palm Springs where Microsoft brought together 3,500 Web developers. Netscape's source-code giveaway created a buzz at the show.

"Everybody has a great idea for improving the browser," he said. "You used to have to convince Microsoft or Netscape to implement your idea. Now, it looks like we may not have to wait."

Dooling, who's lobbied for high-tech firms, most recently Hughes Electronics, said AEA created his post because nearly half of AEA's 3,100 U.S. members are based in California.

Dooling will join AEA's current Sacramento lobbyist, Teresa Casazza, to argue that California schools need more emphasis on math and science, and that the Legislature should not regulate high- tech firms.

But unlike other lobbyists, Dooling will go to Sacramento without a checkbook. The AEA, which has not been a big political donor, hopes to create bipartisan support for its pro-tech agenda without lavish contributions.